Settlement Reached in Wrongful Death Suit Against San Angelo Nursing Home

SAN ANGELO, TX — A wrongful death lawsuit against a San Angelo nursing home alleging negligence in the care of a 75-year-old resident who developed severe pressure ulcers after a COVID-19 hospitalization has reached a settlement agreement, court records show.

The case, initially filed in Hays County and later transferred to Tom Green County, was mediated and an agreement reached, according to a docket note from Sept. 18, 2025. Final settlement documents were pending as of the latest entry, with the case placed on the dismissal docket for March 19, 2026, in Tom Green County District Court.

David Goad, as personal representative of the estate of Gerald Lee Goad, filed the suit on Dec. 14, 2022, against CaraDay Meadow Creek LLC, doing business as Meadow Creek Nursing and Rehabilitation, and CaraDay Healthcare TX3 LLC. The complaint sought more than $1 million in damages, claiming the defendants' failures in providing ordinary care led to the resident's injuries, prolonged suffering and eventual death.

Gerald Lee Goad was admitted to Meadow Creek Nursing and Rehabilitation on Jan. 1, 2021, for skilled nursing and rehabilitation due to deconditioning following a hospitalization for COVID-19 at Shannon Health System in November 2020. Court documents state he had a medical history including stroke, congestive heart failure, obesity and post-polio syndrome, and required full assistance with basic activities such as bed mobility, toileting, hygiene and bathing. 

According to the petition, on Jan. 11, 2021, Goad was found with open areas on his skin on both buttocks, coccyx and gluteal folds, with dark bruising. A care plan was written for a low-air-loss bed with alternating pressure and wound care. He underwent a wound care consultation on Jan. 14, 2021, at San Angelo Community Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with Stage II painful pressure ulcers on the coccyx and buttocks. 

The ulcers worsened rapidly, progressing to deep tissue injury by Jan. 15, 2021, and becoming unstageable by Jan. 27, 2021, after transfer to Shannon Health System. Goad was then transferred to Park Plaza Nursing Home, where the buttock and coccyx pressure ulcers deteriorated to Stage IV, requiring extensive surgical debridement of skin, fascia and muscle on Feb. 26, 2021. He continued to require additional skilled nursing care, rehabilitation, routine medical follow-up, wound care, hospitalizations and medical equipment and supplies for the next year of his life until his death, the petition states. 

The suit alleged negligence including failures to use ordinary care in health care administration; acknowledge or appreciate the decedent's need for assistance with mobility, repositioning, hygiene and toileting; follow physician's orders; monitor, treat, assess and diagnose; communicate timely with physicians and other providers; take measures to prevent deterioration of medical issues; advocate for the patient; and invoke the chain of command. 

It also claimed gross negligence, asserting the acts and omissions involved an extreme degree of risk and proceeded with conscious indifference to the rights, safety and welfare of Goad. 

An expert report attached to the petition, prepared by Dr. David E. Mansfield, a board-certified family physician with experience in wound care and nursing facilities, concluded that Meadow Creek Nursing and Rehabilitation violated standards of care. Mansfield stated that turning and repositioning should have been done every two hours, toileting and hygiene checks every two hours, and bathing and cleaning at least daily. He opined that these violations proximately caused Goad to develop deep tissue injury, which progressed to Stage IV ulcers, requiring surgery, prolonged rehabilitation and pain, and that proper care would have prevented the injuries. 

The case was transferred from Hays County District Court to Tom Green County District Court, because the events occurred in Tom Green County. A pretrial hearing set for Oct. 8, 2025, and a jury trial scheduled for Oct. 27, 2025, were canceled. Mediation notes from defense attorney Emily J. Davenport indicated the settlement agreement was reached, with final documents awaiting information on a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services lien. 

Attorneys for the plaintiff were from Van Wey, Metzler & Williams PLLC in Dallas.

Meadow Creek Nursing and Rehabilitation is located at 1101 Thorpe Lane in San Marcos, but the petition identifies its operations in San Angelo at 4343 Oak Grove Blvd. CaraDay Healthcare TX3 LLC is described as a health care entity organized under Texas laws, with a registered agent at 803 Riverforest Drive in New Braunfels.